NEW YORK & PITTSBURGH & LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. & ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — TruFood Manufacturing, a leading U.S. contract manufacturer specializing in better-for-you nutrition bars, chocolate and baked granola, announced the successful completion of its combination with Bar Bakers, LLC (“Bar Bakers”), a prominent player in nutritional snacks manufacturing. The union of these two leading companies is expected to create a scaled industry player with a significant footprint across product categories and geographies. Although the financial specifics remain private, investment firm Manna Tree has joined Mubadala Capital in supporting this venture.
TruFood’s Chief Executive Officer, Michael Buick, will oversee the combined company. Harold Rothman, Founder and CEO of Bar Bakers, will join the new company’s Board of Directors, while Gary Jacobs, President of Bar Bakers, will become its Chief Operating Officer.
Commenting on the transaction, Buick said: “The coming together of TruFood and Bar Bakers marks a significant milestone as it strengthens our position in the nutritional snacks market. As a result, we have expanded our capabilities and portfolio of products and strategically extended our manufacturing footprint to the west coast. The combined company’s expertise and resources will enable us to better serve our customers and to accelerate our growth opportunities. I am thrilled to welcome Bar Bakers to our family. Their track record of customer partnership and operational excellence align perfectly with our values and vision.”
Since its inception in 2013, Bar Bakers has been an integral west coast manufacturer for major nutritional snack brands, offering cutting-edge production capabilities. Their market leading technologies in cold form, baked bars, and cookie and wafer manufacturing complements TruFood’s existing strengths, which is expected to cultivate deeper relationships with customers and speed up innovation. Bar Bakers, which is headquartered in Los Alamitos, California, has more than 1,000 employees across four manufacturing sites and two warehouses in California. The integration process will be conducted with careful consideration to ensure a smooth transition for employees, customers, and other stakeholders.
“Together with Mubadala Capital, Manna Tree and TruFood, Bar Bakers will have greater resources and new capabilities to support the continued growth of our valued customers,” added Rothman. “On behalf of everyone at Bar Bakers, we look forward to coming together with the TruFood team and are confident that, together, the combined company will be best positioned to address the evolving needs of our customers and drive continued success for them, for our employees, partners and all our stakeholders. I look forward to supporting the company and advising the management team from my board position.”
Adnan Azam, Executive Director at Mubadala Capital, added: “We see significant value in bringing together TruFood and Bar Bakers to create a single company that has the capabilities and expertise to lead this industry in the years ahead. This transaction reinforces our strong commitment to TruFood and Bar Bakers’ growth strategy as we add network capacity, broaden our production capacity, and expand our position in high growth categories. We are excited to welcome the Bar Bakers team and employees to the Mubadala Capital family as we continue to build a market leader in nutrition snacks.”
Steve Young, Managing Partner at Manna Tree, added: “The better-for-you bar market is large and growing and TruFood and Bar Bakers’ innovative product portfolio and unwavering commitment to nutrition and quality make them the leader in manufacturing for the bar category’s largest health-forward brands. As consumer preferences continue evolving towards healthier, more protein rich options, we believe the combination of TruFood and Bar Bakers is exceptionally well-positioned to capitalize on these favorable market trends.”
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP acted as legal advisors to Mubadala Capital. Winston & Strawn LLP acted as legal advisors and Houlihan Lokey as financial advisors to Bar Bakers.
About TruFood Manufacturing
TruFood Manufacturing is a leading contract manufacturer of branded and private-label nutrition bars, protein bars, chocolate moulded products, and baked goods. These products are sold at club, grocery, drug, and convenience stores worldwide. TruFood has a large presence on the East Coast with over 400,000 sq. ft. of state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities and continues to grow through its strong reputation for manufacturing high quality snack products for its marquee customer base.
About Bar Bakers
Bar Bakers is a leading contract manufacturer of branded nutrition and protein bars, baked bars and cookies and wafer bars. These products are primarily sold throughout the US and Canada at club, grocery, drug, and convenience stores. Bar Bakers has more than 1,000 employees across four manufacturing sites and two warehouses in California and is headquartered in Los Alamitos, CA. and continues to grow through its strong reputation for manufacturing high quality snack products for its marquee customer base.
About Mubadala Capital
Mubadala Capital is the wholly owned asset management subsidiary of Mubadala Investment Company, a c. $280 billion global sovereign investor headquartered in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Mubadala Capital manages c. $23 billion in aggregate across its own balance sheet investments and in third-party capital vehicles on behalf of institutional investors, including four flagship private equity funds, three early-stage venture funds, two funds in Brazil focused on special opportunities and a highly diversified evergreen investment strategy focused on private market opportunities, as well as a series of co-investment vehicles, SPVs and continuation funds.
About Manna Tree
Manna Tree is a global private equity firm committed to improving human health through nutrition. The firm invests and actively partners with growth-stage companies, driven by the core belief that health, well-being, and longevity are attainable through innovation in food. Manna Tree has invested in a number of companies including Health-Ade, Gotham Greens, Vital Farms, Good Culture, Verde Farms, True Food Kitchen, Urban Remedy, The New Primal and Infinant Health.
